U.S. District Court strikes down strip club law in P.G.

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Apr 16, 2007 by Cynthia Di Pasquale

A federal judge has struck down portions of a Prince George's County law regulating strip clubs, saying the county failed to prove they would alleviate social ills such as drug dealing, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and an "atmosphere of deviance."

The law, which was set to go into effect last fall, limited operating hours and required establishments to obtain a license for adult entertainment. What was troublesome to club operators, however, were regulations stipulating how exotic dancers interact with their audiences.

U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis held that those specific rules violated the clubs' First Amendments rights. He found that the county hadn't justified limiting their rights with evidence of a negative social impact from the exotic dancing.

"This was the stupidest lawsuit I've ever been involved in as it relates to the government doing due diligence," attorney Jimmy A. Bell said.

Bell represented International Nite Life Enterprises Inc., which owns Classics Nightclub near Andrews Air Force Base.

The club holds liquor and entertainment licenses. Although a bar and dance club most nights, on Tuesdays and Thursdays it hosts a male revue with an exotic dance troupe known as the D.C. Bad Boys. It has operated violation-free since it opened in 1981, according to Bell.

When the Prince George's County Council took up the issue of regulating clubs such as Classics, it relied heavily on academic studies from other jurisdictions detailing the effects of sexually- oriented businesses. It also considered adult entertainment statues passed by other communities, and evidence of crime associated with the clubs in Prince George's County.

The court found, however, that the evidence was "manifestly inadequate to validate its secondary effects conclusion." Significantly, it found the council seemed to go out of its way to avoid information that might disprove its theories about the effects of strip clubs.

"Indeed, there is nothing of any substance to support a conclusion that the secondary effects alleged by the County (such as rape, robbery, assault, theft from automobiles, etc.) would be reduced at all by requiring dancers to perform on an elevated stage, keeping patrons six feet away from performers, prohibiting tips during performances, banning any physical contact between patrons and entertainers, etc.," Garbis wrote.

The club brought a separate action against the state in 2005 after the General Assembly passed a similarly worded adult entertainment law. Garbis issued a preliminary injunction last July and stayed the litigation pending any change to the law during the legislature's recent session, which didn't occur.

International Nite Life's suit against the county was decided at the same time as an action brought by three other club operators: Wet Sands Inc., CD15CL2001 Inc. and Nico Enterprises Inc. Their claims related to zoning restrictions and other regulations which were upheld by the court.

For example, the court upheld a portion of the regulation requiring both clubs and dancers to obtain an adult entertainment license. It ruled that the licenses shouldn't be posted in a manner that would make the licensee's names and addresses public knowledge.

An attorney for the county declined to comment since she hadn't yet reviewed the entire opinion.

Bell was so inspired by the threat the exotic dancers faced that he produced and directed a documentary about it titled, "Don't Hate: Strippers Fight the Government."